Intek Plastics: Building the future by investing in people

Hastings, Minn. — At Intek Plastics LLC, the work comes down to a simple rhymed truth: Learning is earning.

The Hastings-based company has transformed itself since 2019 into an employee-driven organization that takes an aggressive approach connecting training to moving up the company ladder — or, in Intek parlance, leveling up into new tiers.

Utilizing a highly systematic, scientific blueprint, employees at Intek can open a window to promotion and higher salaries with the ultimate goal of sustaining the company internally for years to come. "We want to make certain we're here both today and tomorrow," said CEO Kevin Hogan, who joined Intek in late 2023 after leading another processing company. "We have a lot of talent at the management level and below that gives me comfort for the long term."

Intek was recently named Plastics News' 2024 winner of the Excellence Award for Employee Relations, handed out March 12 during the PN Executive Forum. Its novel concepts in training and development were eye-catching.

But it is part of a larger, scientific approach at Intek that extends from sophisticated laser measuring systems to safety scorecards to segmented value streams that partition employees into teams to learn translatable skills.

"It doesn't matter what the job is here," said Mike Corcoran, vice president of operations. "Everyone develops relationships with each other and are trained in different skill sets to solve problems."

Corcoran, who came from a medical device manufacturer, took a rigorous approach to process and people and then applied it to the longtime profile extrusion company. Intek, founded in 1961, had built its reputation on working with the nation's largest window and door manufacturers, many based in its native Minnesota and surrounding areas.

However, the company faced recent challenges. While more than 80 percent of its business was in those fenestration products, it was subject to market ups and downs based on home construction and remodeling trends. Many of its employees were older and closer to retirement age, and the company had to compete for workers within the greater Minneapolis metropolitan area.

Change was bound to occur. In late 2022, Intek was purchased by Vermilion Group Inc. (VGI), the private investment vehicle for the Mortenson family.  The Mortenson’s also own Minneapolis-based Mortenson Construction, a builder of large projects that have included Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins), and are growing their investment activity, Hogan said, and Intek provided a perfect vehicle to jump-start that growth.

Intek, under VGI's umbrella, has a 10-year plan to grow to $300 million in sales after hovering just over $60 million in 2024.

That plan has started, with Intek purchasing a second facility in Medford, Wis., in 2023 that added $40 million in capacity and then, in early January, buying Eau Claire, Wis.-based Five Star Plastics LLC, moving into injection molding.

Intek is particularly proud of two new areas of opportunity. One is the production of plastic channels used for water flow in an automated plant greenhouse. The food-safe channels allow for the production of leafy greens and fresh produce that can be shipped anywhere in the world.

The other is in the construction of data centers used by major technology companies that require specialty plastics that act as a conduit to absorb energy. Other projects, especially in Medford, now focus on medical markets, and electronics also are becoming more of a focus.

"Data centers are evolving at lightning speed," said Customer Experience Manager Gretchen Fenenga. "On the customer side, how we work with customers at inception has been a big goal of ours over the past seven years, instead of just working with engineers and final designs."

This is part of where the science comes in. Intek has created dedicated teams to meet with customers at the beginning of a project. The teams include applications engineers, sales personnel and a customer experience representative that can guide the client the entire way.

The company's regimented approach extends to supply chain issues, too. A dedicated team reads newspapers every day and looks for climactic events that could affect shipments, such as hurricanes, a freeze or a viral emergency. Alternatives, including new shipping routes or materials, can be quickly suggested.

On the manufacturing floor, science becomes ingrained with process. Again, some history is worthwhile. Nate Becker, Intek's learning and development manager, started at the company in 2000 and moved up from line work to the skid department to machine operation and then shipping. But he left Intek for a short time for other advancement opportunities before returning to lead training.

What he had seen was employees who either learned on their own or were reprimanded or even transferred to another department if they could not perform a new task. "We wanted to start breaking down the walls in the company," Becker said. "Now what we have is such a rich, robust offering, where we train people to train the next generation."

It starts with using a Training Within Industry, or TWI, methodology, where employees are trained across platforms and skills. Teams are divided into an east and west value stream, with each working on different materials and processes. Within those streams, younger workers gain hands-on experience from older workers and must prove they can perform those tasks.

Once they are ready, they take an assessment to see whether they are ready to move to the next level, or "level up." If they can, then they receive an increase in pay — learning is earning — and responsibility. It is all done at an employee's own pace. And employees from the east stream can move to the west, and vice versa. "It feels like we're playing dodgeball some days, with employees moving to different parts of the organization," Becker explained.

Employees can advance 10 levels in two years, resulting in a $12-per-hour pay increase in that time, Becker said.

An Emerging Leaders program provides more opportunity, where plant workers can learn management skills in a yearlong course. An executive leadership program is on the table. And grants from local universities provide more training and tuition reimbursement. Even office workers are involved, with many taking an Extrusion 101 and 201 class to learn how parts are made and the role they have.

The employee turnover rate in a competitive market is 15 percent, compared with 32 percent three years ago, said Human Resources Manager Chantal Heetland. Pay and benefits are above average for the Twin Cities region, she said.

"It used to be people coming in the door looking for a job," she said. "Now, they are coming looking for a career."

That rigorous approach extends to an investment in quality and safety. Intek has adopted a complex Bytewise Inline Measurement and Promix process control system that provides faster data through laser scanning and the elimination of less precise hand measurements, Corcoran said. "Someone can squeeze a caliper differently and you get a different reading," he said. "We've moved away from that."

Plant defective parts per million were a scant 361 in 2024, down from 2,646 in 2019. Safety has become a priority for Intek's 230 employees, said Environmental Health and Safety Manager Jim Miotke, with no incidents recorded on the shop floor last year. A detailed Safety Scorecard must then follow, with cards filled out.

The Intek brand wants to grow. A line of bioplastic materials, produced by resin suppliers and distributed by Intek, has been launched under the IntekGreen name. The company plans to outsource its specific programs to new facilities as it grows.

In its leadership program, its employee students were asked to undertake a "hedgehog" exercise and define Intek's strengths. A statement of purpose was developed, with a temporary tattoo with the slogan "custom is everything" being the defining term for its creative approach to work and workers.

"One of our strengths is in learning and evolving," Heetland said. "Nobody ever told us what our limitations are."